Republic of Mining

Rio Tinto commits $1M to Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Minerals Development – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 28, 2019)

November 28, 2019

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Waubetek-led initiative aims to increase opportunities for Indigenous participation in mining

Global mining giant Rio Tinto has committed $1 million over five years to become a founding partner in the Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Minerals Development being established in Northern Ontario.

The centre is an initiative of the Waubetek Business Development Corp., an Indigenous-led economic development organization based on the Whitefish River First Nation that provides business financing and economic development services to First Nations and Aboriginal businesses located throughout northeastern Ontario.

It’s being designed as a centre of knowledge and expertise for Indigenous communities, industry and governments. It will connect stakeholders to develop partnerships and offer access to information, referral services and training tools around Indigenous participation in mineral development.

The High-Stakes Race For Bougainville’s Copper And Gold – by Tim Treadgold (Forbes Magazine – November 27, 2019)

November 28, 2019

https://www.forbes.com/

Fat profits are being made by speculators confident they can beat a Chinese takeover of one of the world’s great copper and gold deposits on the Pacific island of Bougainville even though it hasn’t produced a pound of metal in 30 years.

The once fabulous Panguna mine was closed in 1989 during a civil war which pitted locals, fighting as the Bougainville Revolutionary Army, against troops of the government of Papua New Guinea which claimed control of the island.

An estimated 20,000 people died from the fighting and disease in what ranks as the worst conflict in the South Pacific since World War Two. An uneasy truce in 2001 formally ended the conflict but Bougainvilleans have continued to push for independence which is being tested in a two-question referendum which started this week and will end on December 7 with voters being asked whether they want complete independence or just greater autonomy from Papua New Guinea.

Friedland says Congo is now more attractive than Chile for copper mines (Bloomberg/MiningWeekly.com – November 27, 2019)

November 28, 2019

https://www.miningweekly.com/

LONDON – Chile’s worst civil unrest in decades means the Democratic Republic of Congo is a more attractive proposition for mining investment, according to billionaire Robert Friedland.

While Chile, the world’s top copper producer, seeks measures to quell the social unrest that exploded last month, the election of President Felix Tshisekedi earlier this year has improved the prospects in Congo, Friedland said at the Mines and Money conference in London on Monday. Ivanhoe Mines, founded by Friedland, is developing the world’s second-largest copper-mining project in Congo, with production due to start in 2021.

“There is a new sheriff in town,” said Friedland, referring to Tshisekedi. Chile is now a “terrible place to invest in mining, while Congo is a really great place,” he said. Over more than two decades, mining investor Friedland and his small team have made some of the biggest mineral discoveries in the world.

Column: Coal use for electricity slips, but China, India concerns remain – – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – November 26, 2019)

November 28, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia – A record drop in the amount of electricity generated from coal is likely this year, something that sounds positive for efforts to mitigate climate change, but things are seldom that simple.

Global electricity from coal-fired power plants will drop by 3%, or 300 terawatt hours, this year, according to an article by three power sector and climate change analysts published on Monday in the online journal Carbon Brief.

This would be the largest decline in coal-fired generation on record and is the result of falling output at power plants in Europe and the United States, the report said. It also said that India will see coal-fired generation drop in 2019 for the first time in “at least three decades,” while China’s generation will stabilize.

Chile Protests Threaten to Dethrone World’s Top Copper Producer – by Laura Millan Lombrana (Bloomberg News – November 27, 2019)

November 28, 2019

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Codelco’s standing as the world’s top copper producer is increasingly at risk in the wake of a citizen uprising that is shaking Chile to its core.

Codelco planned to spend US$20 billion over a decade to modernize its aging mines and hold off a looming production slump. But protests that have sent millions into the street to demand changes in everything from pensions and health care to education could jeopardize the state-owned miner’s push for needed government funding.

The alternatives are largely unappealing. The company could delay the work, but its costs for processing lower-quality ore from aging mines is growing. It could boost borrowing, but its debt already sits at a record high. The bottom line: Without government funding, the company that now produces about 8 per cent of global copper may soon find itself slipping from its top spot, according to Colin Hamilton at BMO Capital Markets.

Eric Sprott, out $140-million on Kirkland Lake Gold, undecided on deal with Detour Gold – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 27, 2019)

November 27, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd.’s plan to acquire Detour Gold Corp. has been costly for Eric Sprott. How costly?

“I think my loss is $140-million,” the maverick gold investor said of the drop in value of his investment in Kirkland Lake in the two days since it announced its all-stock deal to acquire Detour. Mr. Sprott, who is Kirkland’s second-biggest shareholder, said this is also the biggest investment loss of his career, in such a short time period.

On Monday, Toronto-based Kirkland, one of the world’s most profitable gold companies, shocked the market by announcing it planned to buy struggling low-grade miner Detour Gold Corp. for $4.9-billion. Investors immediately soured on the deal. Kirkland Lake shares have lost about 16 per cent of their value since Monday.

Exclusive: Sudan militia leader grew rich by selling gold – by Khalid Abdelaziz, Michael Georgy and Maha El Dahan (Reuters U.S. – November 26, 2019)

November 27, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Late last year, as President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s hold on power weakened, one of Sudan’s most feared militia leaders lashed out against the government of his long-time ally and benefactor.

In a speech to cheering troops, militia chief Mohamed “Hemedti” Hamdan Dagalo sympathised with the thousands of protesters who had poured onto the streets in December demanding food, fuel and an end to corruption. He hit out at officials “who take what isn’t theirs.” “There are some people who are doing great harm, and they are the officials, not the poor,” he raged.

After years of loyally supporting Bashir, Hemedti took part in the military coup that toppled the leader in April and is now a senior figure in the transitional government that is preparing the ground for elections in three years’ time. Under the constitution, members of the transitional government aren’t allowed to engage in private business activity.

Matawa Chiefs – “Matawa member First Nations will lead and deliver the next economic boom of this province” – by Staff (NetNewsLedger.com – November 26, 2019)

November 27, 2019

http://www.netnewsledger.com/

THUNDER BAY – “Matawa member First Nations will lead and deliver the next economic boom of this province. Equitable partnerships between Matawa First Nations-Government-Industry will result in investment opportunities on a national and international scale. Matawa First Nations are the partners and investors of certainty required for economic and social prosperity,” says Chief Harvey Yesno, Eabametoong First Nation.

“Matawa First Nations are fully aware of the potential impacts to our Inherent Aboriginal and Treaty Rights with the anticipated significant developments that will occur on our homelands. In today’s environment, it would be absurd and negligent for our communities not to call on the Ontario government to develop a new Crown-Inherent Aboriginal Rights-Treaty approach to develop the North,” states Chief Celia Echum, Ginoogaming First Nation.

The Chiefs of the Matawa First Nations (MFN) presented to the Ontario Standing Committee on General Government (SC-GG) regarding Bill 132, also known as ‘An Act to reduce burdens on people and businesses by enacting, amending and repealing various Act and revoking various Regulations’ tabled on Monday, October 28, 2019 by the Hon. Prabmeet Sarkaria, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction.

Aurania finds evidence of highly sought-after lost gold city in Ecuador – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – November 27, 2019)

November 27, 2019

https://www.mining.com/

Canadian junior Aurania Resources (TSX-V: ARU) said on Wednesday it had found vestiges of an old road at the very centre of its flagship asset, The Lost Cities – Cutucu project, which it believes provides solid field evidence of its project being at one of Ecuador’s lost gold mining centres.

The road, the company said, was discovered by its field teams while searching for “Sevilla de Oro,” which was one of two gold producing cities described in historic manuscripts from Ecuador, Peru, Spain and the Vatican.

Those records talk about Spanish settlers operating two gold mines between about 1565 and 1606. The path discovered by Aurania’s exploration teams is thought to be the one that linked “Sevilla de Oro” to the other gold mining centre — “Logroño de los Caballeros” — described in the historic manuscripts.

Portugal’s Lusorecursos in talks to fund 400 mln euro lithium project – by Sergio Goncalves (Reuters U.S. – November 27, 2019)

November 27, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

LISBON, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Portuguese mining company Lusorecursos said on Wednesday it was negotiating a 400 million euro funding deal with several international players as it gears up to explore for lithium in the country’s northern region.

Portugal is Europe’s biggest lithium producer, but its miners sell almost exclusively to the ceramics industry and are only now preparing to produce the higher-grade lithium that is used in electric cars and to power electronic appliances.

Lusorecursos was awarded a concession to explore a mine in Montalegre, near the Portugal-Spain border, in March this year but final approval depends on the outcome of an environmental impact study.

Next up for precious metals: An IPO for a company that funds mining projects – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – November 27, 2019)

November 27, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

It’s the latest sign that rising gold prices are giving Canada’s mining market a shot in the arm

In the latest sign that rising gold prices are giving Canada’s mining market a shot in the arm, Toronto-based Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. has announced plans to raise $360 million through an initial public offering scheduled for next year.

The company, which finances mining projects for a cut of the revenue produced by the mine, known as royalties or streams depending on the details, was founded in 2016 by former Barrick Gold Corp. executive Shaun Usmar with backing from Elliott Management, a U.S. hedge fund known for its activism.

Now, with gold prices rising and the equity financings still slow for mining companies, Triple Flag said it plans to open up a 17 per cent stake in the company to public investment, by issuing 20 million shares, priced between $15 and $18. Elliot Management would retain control of 83 per cent of the company, or about 97 million shares.

UPDATE 1-Bougainville mining expectations rise amid peaceful referendum – by Jonathan Barrett (Reuters U.S. – November 26, 2019)

November 27, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY, Nov 26 (Reuters) – An independence referendum in Bougainville has reignited interest in copper mining in the South Pacific island, causing a surge in the shares of the former operator of the mine that sparked the region’s war to secede from Papua New Guinea.

Shares in Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL), the former operator of the giant Panguna gold and copper mine, have more than tripled since early last week to trade at above A$0.40 late on Tuesday. This coincides with the start of a non-binding independence referendum in Papua New Guinea’s region of Bougainville that has begun peacefully and will run until Dec. 7.

The vote is a key part of a peace agreement reached in the aftermath of a decade-long war between Bougainville’s rebel fighters and Papua New Guinea forces that ended in 1998 and killed 20,000.

Editorial: Thompson mining’s future looking brighter, but when? (Thompson Citizen – November 27, 2019)

November 27, 2019

https://www.thompsoncitizen.net/

Although it wasn’t really that long ago that the mining industry was booming in Thompson – if you’ve lived here longer than 10 years, you experienced at least part of it – it might feel like it’s mostly been gloom and doom for a long time because, for the most part, it has.

The 2008 global recession, which was a bit delayed in arriving in Thompson, although eventually it did, was only first starting to be felt when Vale announced nine years ago this month that it had plans to shut down the smelter and refinery in Thompson for good.

At the time that it was first announced, the proposed shutdown date was 2015, though that was later pushed back three years, with operations ceasing about midway through 2018. A bit more than a year before that, Birchtree Mine was placed on care and maintenance status, resulting in the loss of more than 100 jobs.

OPINION: Shining a little light on the Mary River process – by Ken Armstrong (Nunatsiaq News – November 26, 2019)

November 27, 2019

https://nunatsiaq.com/

Ken Armstrong is the President of the NWT-Nunavut Chamber of Mines.

The current impasse that phase two of the Mary River project finds itself in is of great interest and also concern to investors and industry watchers. We’d like to shine some light on three aspects of this process.

First, there has been recent criticism of Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. for positioning several buildings and construction materials, needed for the phase two railway expansion, before approvals for the railway are in place.

Operating in the North is challenging, with remote projects relying on limited transportation infrastructure and seasonal shipping windows. For northern resource projects, it is not uncommon to pre-position equipment at or near a project site in advance of receiving required permits.

CN Rail strike ends with tentative deal with union, but fallout continues for farmers, miners – by Emily Jackson and Naomi Powell (Financial Post – November 26, 2019)

November 27, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Canadian National Railway and Teamsters Canada reached a tentative agreement to renew the collective agreement for 3,200 conductors and yard crews, ending a week-long strike that choked the country’s rail capacity at a critical shipping time for farmers.

Employees can return to work as early as Tuesday at 2 p.m., with normal operations resuming Wednesday at 6 a.m., according to statements from CN and the union. The parties have agreed to no further job action during the ratification process, which is expected to take eight weeks.

Details of the agreement will not be revealed until members vote on the deal by secret ballot, but the union previously said the dispute was over long hours and fatigue that led to what it characterized as dangerous working conditions.